Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Oct. 31, 2022
Next week’s Kumi Now will consider the issue of antisemitism, as we mark the International Day against Fascism and Antisemitism across Europe on Wednesday, the 9th of November.
• Lord, we bring before you all those whose lives are impacted by racism and hatred. Help us to counter antisemitism in all its forms, as we continue to advocate for the liberation of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy..
Last Wednesday a delegation of forty Israeli paratroopers joined soldiers from the Gulf States, the UAE and the US in a parachute drop over Bahrain. This joint exercise was organized to mark two years since the signing of the Abrahamic Accords. Israel will showcase aviation products, including drones and air defense systems at the Bahrain International Airshow.
• Mighty Lord, you lift up the humble and delight in those who put their hope in your love. Give us your peace as we consider the growing militarization of Middle Eastern countries. Lord, in your mercy..
Tareq Al-Araj, a Palestinian from the national youth football team has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and accused of being a member of a banned group. He was arrested two years’ ago at a temporary checkpoint in Jenin and has had his trial postponed seventeen times.
• Lord, we pray for Tareq, a promising young sportsman, confined to prison for years. We pray for an end to Israeli authorities’ policy to target and incarcerate young Palestinians . Lord, in your mercy..
Twenty two Palestinian children achieved outstanding results, winning six medals at the recent Arab Chess Championship held in Syria. Randa Sedar won a gold medal in her ten-year-old age group matches, as well as the Woman Candidate Master title.
• Lord, we give thanks for the enthusiasm of the young players of the recent chess championship in Syria, which drew Palestinian children from the West Bank, Gaza and the diaspora. We thank you that even through difficult times these children can focus their minds and work to improve their skills so they can participate in international competitions. Lord, in your mercy…
The US company called Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has had to conduct a review of its moderation policies for Arabic and Hebrew language content across all three platforms after complaints received over its coverage in Palestine/Israel during May 2021. The human rights due diligence report states that at that time the Arabic content was overly moderated, while the Hebrew content, even hate speech, was left untouched.
• Lord, you speak the truth and declare what is right. Can it be right that companies owning our channels of communication practice discrimination in how they censor messages? We pray that their policies will be openly and transparently reviewed. Lord, in your mercy..
Israeli forces stormed the village of al-Jawwaya, east of Yatta in the south Hebron hills on Tuesday, the 25th of October. They attacked residents, threw tear gas canisters at them and tore down and seized two family tents. There are 1200 Palestinians living in small communities on their agricultural land in the Masafer Yatta area. They have endured attacks from the Israeli army for over forty years as the army wants to turn the land into a firing zone. Recently these attacks have escalated and the residents suffer repeated harassment, home demolitions and the deprivation of basic resources.
• Lord ,we pray that international organizations and governments will challenge the Israeli government over their attempts to expel the Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta. Lord, in your mercy..
This week we remember the British Balfour Declaration, issued on the 2nd of November 1917. In the words of the Palestinian academic Edward Said it was ‘made by a European power..about a non-European territory in flat disregard of both the presence and wishes of the native majority residents in that territory.’ The British pledge is viewed as one of the main catalysts of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948 by the state of Israel.
• Lord, we pray that the British government will recognize and make reparation for the harm and suffering it has caused Palestinians through the way it has enacted the Balfour Declaration. Lord, in your mercy..
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Canada and the United States of America. Lord, in your mercy…